


glory and gore

by haramzayn



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Action, Anal Sex, Blood, Christianity, Cults, Detective, GUNS BLOOD DEMONS GHOSTS, God - Freeform, Gore, Horror, Liam is a doctor, M/M, Mentions of Rape, Murder, Mystery, Niall is a nurse, OH BY THE WAY, Paranormal AU, Police, Psychological Disorder, Religion, Satanic Cults, Satanism, Smut, Spanking, Tons of Violence, Violence, Zayn is a detective, and all that other good stuff, doesnt matter, dont worry i promise it wont be sexualized, homocide, i dont actually know the ziam ships last name how embarrassing, i think its mayne, im trying to think of more tags, larry stylinson - Freeform, oh I forgot, okay now moving onto smutty tags, okay this us gonna have a lot of tags, okay you know what im not cut out to be a smut writer, one direction - Freeform, smut is so hard to write god, so if u aint into that stuff then bye, sorry - Freeform, supernatural stuff, thats it with the smutty tags, theres gonna be a lot of it in this fic though, theres some religious stuff here too, this is ot5, ziam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-22 03:59:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3714142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haramzayn/pseuds/haramzayn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What are you Harry?"<br/>"I'm everything you ever wanted, baby, and more,"</p><p>Liam is an abornally happy doctor who talks too much, Niall is his clumsy nurse, Zayn is a detective who may or may not have a thing for Liam, and Harry is trouble. </p><p>And trouble is the last thing 23 year old Louis Tomlinson needs right now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i'm finally posting this ah im so happy! this fic has been so fun to write i can't wait for u guys to read it.
> 
> huge shoutout to ruby and jen for helping me out with everything and listening to me complain about how hard it is to write smut 
> 
> now this fic is gonna be pretty hardcore and graphic so expect anything, there is gonna be mentions of rape (non sexualised of course ) lots of violence and maybe major character death so u know expect the worst.
> 
> thats it from me i think but i really hope u enjoy :D

December 3rd 2009

_You know that feeling? When you're just on the edge, halfway between sleep and alertness, your mind furiously trying to conjure up some torturous way to keep you awake? Suddenly, your ears open and you can hear everything, your mind reeling with nostalgia still desperately trying to keep you awake. But your body lays passively still. It's as if a huge weight is on your chest. You just want to move, your mind is alive but all you desperately crave is sleep?_

Louis Tomlinson isn't unfamiliar with the feeling.

The luxury of tossing and turning had long gone and he desperately needed sleep. But he couldn't. He simply. Just. Couldn't. He could hear the busy late night (more so early morning) traffic, drivers pretentiously beeping their horns, screaming profanities, people talking about god knows what, a scream for help, the tick of a grandfather clock, footsteps hitting hard pavement and- wait.

A scream for help?

Louis jolted awake, his body already coated in a thin veil of sweat. Sure, screams aren't really a phenomenal thing seeing as its 4 am on a friday night in the middle of one of New York's highest crime ridden neighbourhoods, but this scream, this scream had sounded so close, like it was right next to him. An irrational wave of fear washed over Louis, as he gripped his duvet and sat up. His eyes scanned over his apartment, but everything seemed to be in order. Everything except for his dumb cat Felix, but who knows where that lazy thing was this late at night? Probably having sex with the flea ridden alley cats again.

Sighing, Louis stood up, his joints popping, before he made his way out of his room. Scarcely dressed, the cold air hit Louis like a freight train as he ambled slowly into the kitchen

"Maybe some shitty late night tv will help," he muttered, pulling out a bottle of Black Douglas whiskey out of his cramped fridge.

He brought it to his lips and padded towards his living room but the liquid never reaches his mouth.

Blood.

Blood everywhere, the red liquid stained the walls of his living room making the room glow as if it was a room from hell itself.

Then he saw the bodies.

20 bodies. All children. Hanging bloodied on nooses from his ceiling. Their faces had been hacked at leaving them distorted. their limbs are intact but all their fingers and toes had been torn off leaving bloodied stubs in their place. The only area of their bodies that had been untouched was their eyes. They started back at Louis, hollow and sunken like something that was alive and dead at the same time. and god the smell. The smell of decaying human, its something that can top no other. God it was bad. Bad bad bad.

Louis was frozen in place.

It was like ice had filled his limbs, so he just stood and stared until drops of blood began to rain down on him. He staggered back in horror but bumped into a body on the way and let out a scream. His knees finally gave in and he turned away from the room, crawling out and collapsing in a heap of tears blood and exhaustion.

—

Soft and warm. Mmm this is nice. Nice nice. Louis ran his fingers over his duvet, his eyes still closed. Nice and warm. Gradually, Louis opened his eyes before jolting awake and remembering what happened. He jerked up right and made a beeline for his living room.

"This is really becoming a habit," he mumbed as he stumbled into his living room

Blank.

White walls, wooden floor, shag carpet all blank normal and blank. Not a trace of blood or a whiff of decaying skin. Nothing at all. Just his normal living room. Louis let out a breath he forgot he was holding

"Now that was one hell of a dream," he huffed before stepping into his bathroom to get ready for class.

Rubbing his eyes he moved towards the mirror and staggered back not believing what he saw.

Blood again. Blood everywhere. Staining his clothes, dried to his face even matted in his usually soft hair. He's covered in it from head to toe. Unable to comprehend it, he stepped back, his knees giving away again.

The cool tiles felt like a blessing against his blazing skin as he began to scream and pound at the floor.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE I CAN'T DO THIS I CAN'T I CAN'T I FUCKING CAN'T"

He screamed over and over until for the second time, he passes out from pure exhaustion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH! this might be short, but im gonna try and update every two days, hope u enjoy!  
> as always huge thanks to my hunties ruby and jen and a special thank you to the louis to my harry, hacer, for proofreading this, I LOVE YOU BABYCAKES
> 
> ENJOY!! :D

This time Louis woke up immediately.

His eyes jolted open, petrified of what he’ll see. Remarkably, all he saw was a typical hospital ward.

Actually, forget typical this place was downright miserable.

He slowly looked over to the other patients, who seemed well out of their minds, rambling on and on about miscellaneous things and looking around the room with dazed expressions.

Christ, what ward had they put him in?

He rolled over again and spotted a nurse with his back turned to him. He looked sane enough. Louis awkwardly cleared his throat, wincing at the effort it took. The doctor turned around and grinned at him. He looked young, pretty fit too honestly. You know, if you were into that blonde hair and blue-eyed stuff.

“You’re finally up!” he grinned

And of course. He’s Irish.

Louis opened his mouth to answer him, but he ended up in a coughing fit, red faced and gasping for air. The nurse grinned again. Asshole.

“You were screaming for like 2 hours, I don’t think you’ll be talking anytime soon,”

Louis opened his mouth again and closed it, staring blankly at him. The nurse only looked amused.

“Give me a second,” he said before dashing out of the ward, shutting Louis’ curtains.

Louis fell back onto the coarse hospital pillows with a sigh.

_

 

The Irish nurse returned after a while with a tray of food, medication and a doctor. He handed the food and medication to Louis, instructed him on how to take them and exited the room, leaving Louis with the other doctor.

The doctor was absolutely MASSIVE.

The guy was built like a body builder and frankly Louis felt quite undermined as he looked down at his small feminine body. Louis considered asking him about his workout routine, when he spoke.

“Hello! My name is Doctor Payne, I’d ask you how you feel but you cant talk,” He winked.

Christ.

“I suppose ill be doing most of the talking then? So I don’t know what you remember but one of your neighbours found you and dialled the police. Right mess you were when they brought you in, unconscious but still screaming. That’s why we had to put you in ward C. But anyway your vocal chords were COMPLETELY SLAUGHTERED, we’ve never seen anything like it you know? It was like you were dead, but you were still screaming. Quite a sight as you’d imagine, the paramedics were proper freaked out, OH! I can show you the scans if you want!” without waiting for an answer he scampered out of the room.

God that man could talk. Louis rubbed his temples. He was like a machine and his voice was just so LOUD that Louis wondered if he was ever in the army. His buzz cut was a sure giveaway.

Within seconds though, Mr I Might Have Been In The Army But Regardless I Still Look Like I Take Steroids Daily, was shuffling back into Louis room, shutting his curtains and walking back over to his bed.

“Couldn’t find them sorry!” he grinned sheepishly

“But really, your vocal chords were almost destroyed and I don't think you'll be able to talk for at least a day! Which is pretty unfortunate since we have to ask you what happened,"

Thankfully the doctor pondered at the thought and stopped talking. But only to start again a few seconds later.

"Maybe we could have you write it down? Cos you know the police are supposed to come by later today, speaking of today what time is it? Good Lord! It's 3'clock, I have a surgery down at the theatre, terribly sorry Louis, but hey, you should get some rest,"

And with that, Doctor Payne was gone.

Louis rubbed his temples, thankful that the man had finally left. The whole ordeal was quite horrifying if you ask Louis.

The man had a figure of a body builder but his voice was the most un-nerving thing Louis had ever experienced. He talked like a 60 year old little grandma, you know those annoying ones that you can't help but help them walk across the road. The whole thing was off and Louis shuddered while he picked at his food at his food. Deciding he'd rather cut off his arm than eat the rank hospital food, he put the tray on the table and leaned back on the lumpy mattress.

"I really need to get better health insurance," Louis thought yawning, as his eyes began to close. Slowly, Louis let sleep lull him into a false sense of security, his dreams filled with little girls with severed heads and blood dripping from their bodies.

—

After hours of disgustingly graphic dreams and relentless tossing and turning, you could probably guess that Louis was quite cranky when he got rudely and quite abruptly woken up.

"Sir.." Someone tried

No no no no no! Shut up, go away I need more sleep, was what Louis was attempting to say.

Instead some horribly embarrassing animalistic sound tore from his throat. Louis jolted awake and covered his mouth, while two uniformed policemen jumped back.

It was at that exact moment that Doctor Payne and his nurse walked into the room.

"Morning love, you look better, Oh! Here are your new meds the other ones weren't strong enough, Goodness! Look at your hands what a mess! Have you been coughing up blood again? I supp-"

Doctor Ridiculously Chirpy For 3am was cut off by one of the policeman's gruff voices.

"Doctor, we have an interview scheduled with the patient now and I d-"

This time Doctor Payne cut him off

"Oh no no no no! That won't do! He can't talk, I guess he'll have to use his hands. Niall! Go get some paper," The doctor barked, turning to Niall. The amused nurse immediately straightened saluting the doctor and ambling sheepishly out of the room.

Huh, so maybe Doctor Payne was in the army.

The two policeman took a seat beside me bed, as did Doctor Payne, setting his glasses down and cracking his enormous muscles.

The policeman cleared his throat.

"Uh sir, If you don't mind all interviews conducted by the NYPD are to be private and without witnesses, so if you wouldn't mind.." He trailed off looking nervously at the doctor

Doctor Payne seemed unfazed.

"Firstly, you will address me as Doctor, secondly, this patient's vocal chords are in a critical condition, he's required to have a doctor with him at all times so if YOU don't mind," He grinned and leaned back in his chair.

Louis stifled a grin and reminded himself to thank the Doctor profusely before he left this godforsaken place.

A tremendously awkward silence filled the room and Louis wondered what on earth was talking the nurse so long.

To pass time, Louis looked down and examined his small hands. The Doctor was right. Louis had been coughing up blood in his sleep. The dried crimson liquid had stained his hands and it reminded him back that awful night when he was covered in it.

It.

Blood.

Children's blood.

The liquid made most people faint on sight, but Louis wondered about its essentiality. It flows through every part of our being from out heads all the way down to our toes. But then, Louis thought, there were the people who didn't detest it as much as others.

In fact they loathed it.

Yearned for it.

Not just the sight or the smell, but the taste of it on their t-

Louis was cut from his horrific thoughts by the nurse.As sheepishly as he left, he stumbled into the room, red faced and puffing

"Sorry, there was a line" He huffed as if it would explain everything.

"As always," grinned the Doctor before handing me a whiteboard and a marker.

To the annoyance of the policeman, Niall shut the door and took a seat next to the Doctor. One of the men stood up amd began to read Louis' profile.

"Louis William Tomlinson, 23 years of age, originally from England, here on a student visa, clean criminal record," He read out

Louis nodded and drummed his fingers against the cool surface of the whiteboard nervously. He wondered what else the police knew about him.

"On December 3rd 6:33am, neighbours of yours filed a noise complaint. At 6:47 a neighbour entered your apartment and found you screaming, while unconscious, at 6:51 the neighbour called the authorities and at 7:03 2 police vehicles and an ambulance arrived, correct?" He asked

Louis nodded along. He couldn't believe it was December already.

Satisfied, the man sat down and his partner stood up.

"Now Lewis,"

Louis rolled his eyes

"Before we get into explaining what happened, we need a few more details from you. Do you live with anyone Lewis? Say a roommate? Maybe a family member.." he inquired, stepping closer to Louis.

Slowly he uncapped the lid of the pen and wrinkled his nose. Disgusting. It smelt foul, like cherry cough medicine you were supposed to take as a child when you got sick. Nonetheless, Louis complied, writing out three simple words.

"I used to"

"Good, now tell me, what were their names? And what was their relation to you?"

Louis wrote again

"James Franco and Seth Rogen, we went to the same college"

The officer nodded and barked out an order to his partner, who was furiously writing down Louis' every word.

"Now Lewis, can you tell me why they moved out?" He asked

Louis bit his lip. They knew. They had to.

"I don't know" He wrote

"Lewis, I'm going to have to get you to be completely honest with me, why did they move out?" he pushed, stepping even closer to Louis.

That's when the flashback began and that's when Louis began to shake. Shake and convulse. Louis began to shake so violently, that blood began to sputter out of his mouth, making the officers jump back again.

Doctor Payne leapt into action, securing Louis to the bed and yelling,

"That's enough questions for today I'm afraid, Horan! Syringe!"

Gone was the sheepish, red faced nurse Louis saw before. He grabbed a syringe from god knows where and immediately pricked it to Louis' skin.

Little did they know, Louis didn't need whatever they injected into him.

He was already in a completely different world


	3. Chapter 3

January 21st 2007

Cold and lonely were the only words that came to Louis’ mind

With Christmas long gone, the weather had still refused to rise above below freezing. Without the festive season as a distraction, people walked around glumly, barely interacting at all. It was as if all the happiness had been leeched from the world.

And frankly, Louis was sick of it. Too lazy and homesick to do much besides mope, he missed his roommates but as usual, they weren’t home. They’d been acting up ever since New Years and Louis guessed that that was probably his fault.

Drunk and high off their asses, they’d been stumbling in and out of the many boisterous clubs Manhattan had to offer. 10 minutes before the ball drop, they’d been sharing a joint in a cold alleyway. Now that he thinks about it, that probably wasn’t the best idea. Louis had gone back inside one of the clubs to return the lighter they had borrowed.

Except when he came back out, Seth and James weren’t in the alley. He checked behind the dumpsters and even back inside the club, to make sure they weren’t playing some sick joke. But they were nowhere to be seen. 

At this point, Louis was proper freaked out, tugging roughly at his hair and walking aimlessly around the alley when he heard a muffled groan. Scared out of his mind, he'd stumbled out onto the street before ducking behind a street bin. 

A black BMW M4 was parked about 8 meters away from Louis. Usually he’d be swooning over such a luxurious car, but given his drunken state and the situation at hand, Louis was only able to watch as a man roughly shoved a figure into the car, and oh.

Oh. 

It was James.

For a split second, they made eye contact, and James began to struggle. He thrashed around and tried gesturing at Louis, desperation was written on his face and it was like he was pleading with Louis, to come save them. But as sick as it was, Louis was frozen. 

Almost mesmerised, as he watched the figure lash out and slam James against the car before he went limp, and was shoved into the car along with Seth.

Move! 

You idiot! Move! What are you doing? Go save them!

But Louis just sat there.

He sat there while the countdown to the New Year started. He sat there after the ball dropped and he sat there long after the car had driven away. 

Too guilt stricken and scared to do much Louis had stumbled home and passed soundly on his coffee table.

The most grizzly part of it was, that they were back by morning, unscathed, untouched and unforgiving.

No matter how hard he'd begged, cried and apologised, Louis had never been forgiven.

Not only that but they had started acting differently. 

They’d always be off doing something together, they’d come home at ridiculous hours and they’d wake up in the middle of the night screaming 

Even Felix refused to go near them.

Which actually wasn’t a spectacular thing seeing as the cat hated just about everybody, even Louis.

But anyway here Louis was, wallowing in his own self-pity when for the first time in months, the apartment door opened.

Louis turned to see Seth and James and, strange, they were walking in complete unison towards him.

With pale faces and sunken eyes they stopped about 4 feet away him.

Surprised and slightly at unease, Louis opened his mouth to say something, when James reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny blade.

Warning signals were going off in about every part of Louis’ body, but he still stood in front of them, staring curiously.

“What on ea-”

James flicked his wrist and sent the blade flying.

Having only seconds to react, Louis had dropped to the floor, but not fast enough.

The blade nicked his eyebrow, sending a wave of blood to cascade down into his eye. Louis cupped his eye, wincing as the warm liquid completely obscured his vision. 

“What the hell!” Louis roared

This time, when they spoke, they spoke together, their rough voices sounded hollow, like a million rotting souls all speaking at once.

“You did this to us! You left us to die! You let them take everything!” they gasped, clawing at their bodies.

They began to freakishly tear at their shirts, exposing what was left of their marred torsos 

Both didn’t even slightly resemble a human body anymore. They looked more like bloody slabs of scarred and burned meat hanging onto bones. Any skin that remained untouched had been burned with a logo.

Louis was beyond horrified

His heart was in his throat and his knee’s were buckling and sure, at this point most peoples survival instinct would’ve kicked in, but surviving was the last thought on Louis’ mind right now. 

Unfortunately, surviving made its quick accent back up to the first thought on Louis’ mind as Seth whipped out a butchers knife and aimed it straight at him.

“Your turn,” He screeched, lurching towards Louis.

But this time he was expecting it.

He easily evaded Seth, turning away from them and practically bolting into his room. 

He looked the door, grabbed the landline and dialled 911, wincing at the screeches and bangs that came from the other side of his door

By now Louis was hysterical, fearing for his life as he waited for them to pick up.

“911 what’s your emergency?” a bored monotone voice questioned from the other side.

“My roommates are trying to kill me!” 

Louis’ door was shaking precariously as the banging increased

“Alright sir I need you to stay calm, could you please tell me where you are?” she asked, typing away 

Louis told her his address and began to plead with her

“Oh God, I’m so scared please don’t hang up please you have to help me,” 

All of a sudden, the bangs stopped. The screams and scratches subsided. Louis' apartment was completely silent.

They were up to something.

"Of course not love, now can you tell me what they're doing?" she asked, still typing

"Hang on," 

Louis put the phone to his chest and slowly crept over to the door.

With his heart in his throat, he pressed his ear against the door and listened.

Silence.

"Uh I think they're g-"

Louis didn't get to finish his sentence.

A tremendous jolt was sent through his body as the door was ripped off its hinges, and sent flying across the room, along with Louis.

"NO NO NO PLEASE HELP ME!" Louis screeched into the phone, before it was ripped from his grasp and he was being dragged by his feet across the hall.

"PLEASE DON'T DO THIS I'M SO SORRY WHATEVER I DID PLEASE I DON'T WANT TO DIE" He pleaded, trying desperately to grab onto something, anything, just to give him a few more seconds.

But Louis' short stubby nails barely even make marks on the hardwood floor as he was dragged back into the living room.

Still clutching his eye, he made a feeble last attempt to get away. On all fours with shaking limbs he tried to crawl away, but it was no use. They towered over his trembling body. Seth unsheathed a butchers knife and held it poised, over Louis, ready to drop with a flick of his wrist.

"Et corruas errata," He began to chant

Behind him, James joined in while drawing something on the floor.

"Lucifer se videre sacrificium nostrum,"

James stood up and took his place next to Seth.

"Licet multam tibi in profundum inferni profunda, non deus, miserere animae tuae, ut quod reliquum vitae suae tempus in omni amore dolor, ut moriamur acerbissima morte dolere corpus tuum mille animas sentire et numquam bona." They chanted, their eyes growing even darker.

By now, Louis was absolutely livid.

"Please Seth, James don't do this I'm so sorry please please please I'm begging you," Louis choked, still wiping blood fron his eye.

"Sacrificium fieri debet restitui ordinem" They boomed, before the knife came plummeting down.

On instinct, Louis' legs snapped open, kicking James and sending him sprawling. The knife plummeted down with such a force, that it narrowly missed Louis' open legs and instead, struck the floor, going so deep that only the hilt could be seen.

Unfazed, they continued to chant, "Sacrificium fieri debet restitui ordinem, sacrificium fieri debet restitui ordinem, sacrificium fieri debet restitui ordinem," 

Louis took one look in their eyes and saw nothing but hunger. Any trace of their usual happy demeanours had been replaced with sunken faces and dead eyes and it was only then that Louis finally accepted that he had lost his friends forever. Any action that he made now would decide whether he came out of this alive or not. Wonderful.

A sudden primitive urge of survival came over Louis, and something inside him snapped. Why were the doing this? It wasn't his fault. There was nothing he could have done. With that in mind, Louis pulled the knife out of the floor while kicking his legs out, sending Seth flying.

"Sacrificium fieri debet restitui ordinem" James screeched, leaping on top of Louis.

Holy shit he was heavy. For a guy with the body structure of a malnourished child, James was surprisingly built. Louis took a second to look down at his small chubby frame and groaned. He made a mental note to hit the gym more often, if he got out of this alive.

James wrestled him to the floor, but Louis was faster.

"NOT TODAY ASSHOLE" He boomed, hacking at James' face with the knife.

James' arm held him back and Louis could only make a small scratch on his cheek. Dammit. James grinned and spat in Louis' uninjured eye.

"Sacrificium fieri debet restitui ordinem!" He screeched gleefully

"Alright I get it!" Louis huffed, before kicking his leg up and flipping them so he was on top. He straddled James and lifted his knife back up, when suddenly there was an unmistakeable sound behind him. 

He turned to see Seth, with a pistol cocked and aimed straight at Louis. But he wasn't giving up just yet. 

Louis pressed the tip of the knife against James' throat.

"Do it, and I'll kill him," He said clenching hid teeth.

Anyone who knew Louis, would know straight away he was bluffing. In fact, Louis thought, Seth probably knew he was bluffing. But instead of calling him out for it, Seth just grinned

He moved his arm ever so slightly and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew across the room and the sheer force of it should have at least flustered Seth. But he just stood there, grinning, while the bullet imbedded itself in James' skull.

Oh.

Okay.

Louis dropped the knife and tore at his hair. He couldn't even mourn James' death because within seconds, Seth lifted the pistol back up and Louis knew he only had a few crucial seconds to contemplate his next move. He grabbed the knife and cocked his arm back as far as it would go, launching it towards Seth.

The knife imbedded itself in Seth's arm but it was too late.

He had already pulled the trigger. 

Usually, in movies, when shit like this happens, time usually slows down. The bullet would sail through the air at a leisurely pace, giving the hero or heroin ample time to evade it. But God probably hates Louis, it's either that or his 23 years of bad karma was finally catching up to him.

The bullet was fast.

Really fucking fast.

It burrowed into Louis' calf and the white hot burning pain was there immediately. It's almost as if the pain was there before Seth even pulls the trigger. The worst thing about it is that the pain spreads so fast. All he can manage is a weak groan before Seth was lifting the gun back up and aiming it again, the knife still stuck in his arm.

He shoots again, this time to Louis' kneecap, and God, this is a whole new kind of pain. He screamed hysterically while clutching his knee. The pain was so sharp, it felt as if a knife was being driven into his knee repeatedly.

It's all he can do not to pass out.

Instead Louis lay trembling, as Seth towers over him, digging his boot into Louis' calf.

"You think I'd just shoot you?" He cackles, twisting Louis' foot so his leg rolls and his kneecap cracks.

Louis let out a piercing scream. The pain was the worst pain he'd ever felt in his entire life. His whole body hurt, his knee and calf were screaming and his mind was scared. So so scared. He knew he wouldn't survive this. Louis' mind raced and he almost didn't notice the door to his apartment slowly creak open. 

"I've got plans for you!" Seth grinned cheekily, digging his boot into Louis' calf this time.

"But for now.."

"NYPD put your hands up!" 

Three uniformed officers burst into Louis' living room, armed with bulletproof vests and guns.

Its about fucking time.

Seth however, was unfazed. He didn't even turn around. 

"Soon," is all he says, before dropping his weapons and running.

It was all Louis could do to duck, as a shower of bullets rained towards Seth. Louis swore that he got shot at least 5 times, but he didn't stop running. Christ, what a maniac. Seth ran until he reached the window Louis had been sitting at moments ago. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Seth leaped out, plummeting onto the busy Manhattan traffic below. 

His body was never found.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if its late, huge thanks to jade for the never ending support and love, i love you liam! this chapter is for you.
> 
> enjoyyy :D

December 15th 2009

"The guy is insane!"

"So are half the people in this ward!"

"Liam come on, it's none of our business and you remember what happened last time we were caught helping the patients.." Niall trailed off 

"Niall we have to help him, you heard what he was screaming about, the guy's either crazy or needs help and you and I both know help is something the police cant give him," Liam finished, idly tapping his fingernails on Louis' bed.

Christ, they thought he was insane. Louis groggily opened his eyes and attempted to sit up. No wonder they put him in a ward for the mentally insane. He wondered how much of his flashback they heard.

"I had problematic room mates, I'm not a psychopath Jesus Christ." Louis croaked, leaning back against the coarse hospital pillows.

The doctor and nurse turned to him, startled, before the doctor, or Liam, let out a whistle. 

"You can talk! Wonderful! Full recovery! Niall, get him some water," Liam barked, moving towards Louis.

The nurse rushed out of the room and slammed the door. 

"How much of that did you hear?" Liam asked, taking a seat beside him.

"Enough," Louis whispered, scratching at the dried blood on his hands

The door opened and in came Niall with a cup of water. Louis gulped it down, instantly feeling better, and set the cup on the table beside him. Niall took a seat next to Liam and cleared his throat.

"The police wanna come back tomorrow, I told front desk that you'd be discharged today, since your voice is back.." He looked up at Liam for approval.

Liam grinned and turned to Louis.

"First things first, what's your story?" Liam asked 

"My story?" 

"Yeah, like, I'm a gay doctor who got rejected from 3 universities for being too passionate about my sexuality, and Niall here, he's...." Liam trailed off and eyed Niall.

"Hi"

"Niall's just Niall I guess, what about you?" Liam finished

Louis paused and studied the two people in front of him. Ever since the incident, Louis hadn't really gone out much. He'd lost just about all his friends and he wondered if he could trust these people. Liam looked like he had some dodgy past and Niall? Well Louis hadn't exactly figured Niall out yet.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked 

This time, it was Niall who spoke up.

"Because that's what doctors do, that's what we do, we help people it's in our job description man, we don't leave no one behind,"

Liam smiled, God he looked exactly like a puppy, and slung his arm around Niall who was practically glowing with happiness. They were like a bright light in the dull hospital room and Louis realised that yeah, maybe he could trust these people and it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass later. 

"Well about 2 years ago....."

-

"Say it."

"No! I'd rather die, you pig!" The woman screamed, struggling against the two men who held her back.

Harry stepped towards her, eyeing the wooden cross that hung in between the valley of her breasts. He gingerly picked it up, and ran the pad of his thumb against the cool surface.

He grinned. 

"Very well," He said, stepping back. "Cut them off."

The woman let out a wail and thrashed against the men, but her skinny frame was no match. She was seething. Perfect.

"You bastard! I hope you fucking die! I fucking hate you! You stupid cunt!" She screeched.

Harry couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"Tsk tsk tsk, such dirty words for a child of God,"

The men released their grip on the woman, only to each grab one of her breasts a second later.

"Last chance," Harry whispered 

She spat in his face. 

"Excellent,"

In complete unison, the two men unsheathed knives and both held them poised above the woman's body.

Some say women are like birds, that they're only attracted to shiny things. So maybe it was the glinting of the knives, or the pure terror of the situation that made the woman finally give in.

"No! I take it back! I'll say it please I'm sorry! Don't do this! I lo- " 

The men brought their arms down and to Harry's utter delight, her breasts came clean off. They dropped to the floor, spraying blood everywhere, and the woman soon followed, sinking to the floor in a fit of sobs. 

She clawed at her chest and reached for her severed breasts which lay beside her surrounded in pools of blood. Harry stepped towards the woman again and grabbed her hair, positioning her face in front of his.

"Where's your precious God now?" He spat "Where the fuck is he?" 

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," She sobbed as she began to foam from the mouth.

Harry let her go, stepping back and admiring his work. The room was practically covered, bathed, drenched in her blood with the walls splattered and the carpet stained. The metallic smell of blood had already filled the room and towards the middle of the room, the woman lay limp, slowly bleeding to death as she repeated over and over, "I love Satan, I love Satan...".

Harry grinned.

"Beautiful".

-

"It look's like a shithole."

"Niall!" Liam proceeded to pinch his arm.

"Ow! Hey... I'm just sayin' what we're all thinking, where'd you find this place anyway?" 

Liam began to tell a story about his friend's, cousin's, girlfriend's hairdresser who cuts hair for this one guy who... 

Louis zoned out.

He started at the building in front of them, which was about as inviting as the dentists office. The place was literally the epitome of government underfunding and it smelled painfully like a public bathroom.

"Does anyone else smell pee?" he asked absentmindedly, and turned to see Liam staring at him with his mouth half open.

"Oh sorry Liam, continue," Louis shrugged

"Its okay. So anyway, her grandma hooked up with this junkie, who bought off this transgender guy, who also worked at a tampon factory with this lady, who killed the brother of a butcher, who sold meat to this detective who specialised in cases that the police couldn't solve," Liam finished.

Unbelievable. He wasn't even out of breath. 

"Liam mate, you lost me at cousin," Niall said. Louis nodded along.

Liam sighed.

"Come on, let's go, we probably look real creepy standing out here alone," He huffed, ushering them inside.

Louis wished he could say the interior was better, but the smell of urine just got stronger. They began to walk up a staircase that creaked every time Louis put his foot down. What a confidence booster. He felt like he weighed 900 pounds as they slowly made their way upstairs. After what felt like hours of cautious climbing, they reached a small hallway with multiple doors. Louis shuddered. The place was beyond dodgy.

"Liam are you sur-" 

"For the hundredth time Niall, yes! This is the right place, I can feel it in my gut."

"Are you sure that's not just indigestion?" Louis asked

Liam sighed.

To prove his point, he took a defiant step forward, confidence in his stride. Tragically, his confidence was short lived. As soon as he put his foot down, the ancient floor boards underneath him gave way and Liam was falling. Dust and God knows what else began to fill the air and Niall and Louis were left blind as the stumbled around, searching for their friend.

The dust finally cleared though and there, wedged halfway inside a hole in the floorboards was Liam. He looked up sheepishly.

"Hi. I think I'm stuck." 

"Liam! You idiot!" Niall sighed

"Do you think this place has asbestos?" Louis asked, kicking a pile of dust.

"Theres something tickling my legs," Liam whispered and a door at the end of the hall creaked open.

"That's probably the rats," A voice called.

Louis peered ahead and saw the door open completely. A figure stepped out and walked slowly towards them. Jesus Christ. He was gorgeous. Actually, gorgeous was an understatement. The man had sharp defined cheekbones with stubble that complimented his, probably, European features. His hair was effortlessly beautiful, all jet-black and swooped up above his forehead.

"Holy Moly," He heard Liam whisper next to him.

"You're gonna have to pay for that," The man said.

Niall, the only one who hadn't been effected by the man's beauty, snorted.

"Mate, we could probably sue you for this," He said, eyeing the stranger up and down.

The man grinned. "Ah touché, anyway, you's the repo guys or somethin?" He asked scratching his beard.

"No!" Liam squeaked, and yes, Mr tough army man actually squeaked.

"We-wo-wa-we-wi-wi..." Liam trailed off, distressed. 

"Is he retarded or something?" The stranger asked.

"Hey! My cousin's retarded" 

"Niall you don't have any cousins..." Liam whispered, before he burst into tears.

-

"So let me get this straight. They never found his body? Like ever? No blood stains or nothin? Are they even sure he actually jumped out?" The stranger, who now identified himself as Detective Malik ("But you lads can call me Zayn") asked.

Louis sighed and rubbed his temples. They'd been at this for an hour, sitting all cramped up in Zayn's probably asbestos filled, shitty excuse for office.

"Yes I'm sure,"

"Jesus Christ, who recommended me again?"

Liam opened his mouth to explain but Louis cut him off. He did not need a retelling of Liam's, cousin's junkie grandma story or whatever. 

"Irrelevant! Look, I just need to know if you can help me or not,"

To Liam's delight, and probably Louis' too, Zayn leaned back in his chair, making his shirt ride up and show off an impressive array of tattoos. Louis swore he heard Liam whimper.

"Louis man, your story is beyond fucked up, but you're brave and I respect that, but what is it exactly you want me to do?" Zayn asked, staring intently at him. His eyes were almost golden in the dim lighting of his office and Louis realised how out of place he looked. Zayn literally looked like luxury on legs. He looked like he should be wearing tailored suits and eating caviar off model's backs while driving around in a Bugatti. But instead, here he was, wearing a scruffy shirt and a coat which was two sized too big on him while he lived his life in his office.

Niall cleared his throat and Louis realised he had been staring. Christ, he was turning into Liam. 

"I want you to help me find and arrest him," Louis decided.

"That's even if he's alive," Niall added

"He's alive, I know he is,"

"How do you know?" Liam whispered and Louis turned to look at him.

"Lets just say, I can feel it in my gut," Louis answered, turning back to Zayn. The man seemed to be deep in thought.

"I want $300 up front, you can give me the rest after we find him," He answered, placing his elbows on his desk.

Louis sighed and fished for his wallet, forking out a few bills for Zayn. He took the money, counted it and grinned. He clapped his hands and jumped up, sending his chair flying behind him.

"Welcome to the Malik Detective Agency lads!" He chirped, extending his hand for a handshake.

"I think you broke your chair." Niall said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> schools been doin my head in and this story has been the last of my priorities so im sorry this is a few MONTHS late ah, but ive already written the next few chapters so i can post them tomorrow enjoy :)

The walk back to the car was tense. With a few minor details, a new meeting point (Zayn's apartment) and a promise to gather again in 2 days time, Zayn had quite frantically shoved them out of his office and back into the creepy hallway. Narrowly avoiding the gaping hole Liam had made in the floor, they descended down the stairs and towards Liam’s Audi in silence.

Louis fiddled with his hands and thought about the whole ordeal. So far so good, right? Least they had some solid ‘legal’ help, even if the ‘legal help’ was barely 6 foot tall and smoking hot. Louis wouldn’t mind working with Zayn, in more ways than one. But one look at Liam’s injured puppy dog face and Louis forgot the thought completely.

The guy looked crushed.

He looked as if he was seconds from bursting into tears again, which in this case, he probably was.

“Liam, buddy, are you alri-“

“Fine! Fine fine fine. I’m completely and utterly fine!”

Niall let out a breath.

“Good, cos I was hopin maybe we could swing by Nandos, I’ve been mea-“

Liam let out a sad wail as he banged his head against the roof of his car.

“Retarded! He called me retarded, I cannot believe he said that I’m such an idiot, God I’ve made such a fool of myself, I AM A COMPLETE AND UTTER WORTHLESS DISGRACE”

“Jesus buddy, if this is how you take rejection I do not wanna be near you during a break up,” Louis piped, patting Liam's back awkwardly.

Niall snorted. 

“Oh God trust me, that is the last thing you want. I still have the mansion he made out of his snotty tissues and my ears still haven’t recovered from his constan-" 

"WILL BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Liam cried, bursting into tears yet again.

The rest of the journey was made in silence. 

-

"Really Niall? $120? For 3 people? I can't eat all that!"

"Don't worry," Liam said in a monotone voice, "Niall can eat the whole thing, that's all he's good at. Eating and wasting my money"

"Oh shut up Liam, you make like 400 grand a year." Niall countered with a mouthful of chips, as he threw the multiple Nandos bags into the car. 

"Ah yes, the joys of being a brain surgeon. You know Niall, maybe if you studied...."  
Louis let Liam's voice drown out as he looked out the window. It had begun to rain and Louis watched as the big fat raindrops made their way down Liam’s windows. He looked onto the street and saw unsurprisingly that the busy activity of Harlem seemed unaffected by the sudden rain. Children played football in the streets, ignoring the annoyed horns of drivers trying to pass through.

God.

Louis felt a sudden rush of nostalgia as he remembered when he used to do the exact same thing back home in England. Football in the rain on the streets, playing till his knees were bruised and his shoes were soaked. Running inside and getting told off by his mum for tracking mud into the house. The giggles of his sisters as Louis made a funny face when his mother’s back was turned.

His sisters.

How long had it been? 4 years? 6? His heart began to ache as memories from back home began to rush through his mind.

“Louis mate, why do you look like you just saw a ghost?” Niall’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“I’m just tired,”

“Hey, its okay you can sleep when you get home. Uh, speaking of home, where is it exactly?” Liam turned to face him from the drivers seat. 

He swallowed thickly and looked down at his hands.

‘Home’ was the last place on earth he wanted to be.

‘Home’ meant bad dreams.

‘Home’ meant bad memories

‘Home’ meant bloodstained walls and dead children hanging limply from his ceilings.

Louis looked up at Liam pathetically and sighed.

“Or… perhaps you could uh, bunk with us for a while? You know, until things get settled?”

Louis could practically kiss Liam right now, but one look at his tired heartbroken face and an image of Zayn flashing before his eyes made Louis think that it was probably in his best interest not to.

“Lads night! Hell yeah! You know what this means? Playing fifa and eating pizza till 4am! Am I right lads?” Niall squealed jumping around in the front seat like a child.

“Actually I have theatre at 4:30 and you-”

“Liam, no offense mate, but shut up.” 

“Okay.”

Louis grinned and allowed himself to think that yeah, maybe he had found himself a new home.  
-

“Niall I swear to Jesus Mary and all things holy that if you aren’t out of that bed within the next 2 seconds I’m gonna start making you pay rent!” 

“Liam mate, that was a poor effort” Louis drawled, sipping on his tea as he sat at the kitchen counter and watched Liam and Niall’s morning routine.

Well ‘routine’ was what Liam liked to call it, but it was more like a hungover frenzy, trying to get Niall out of bed and out the door. 

“Liam doesn’t like to use naughty words” Yawned Niall, who appeared abruptly from the hallway.

“Heyy, where are my coco pops?”

“In the pantry, anyway Louis buddy are you sure you’re gonna be alright all alone today?” Liam asked

“Yeah ill be fine.”

That was a lie. Louis hadn’t slept at all last night. His dreams had been racked with unmentionable horrors and he was almost a hundred precent sure that they’d be back as vivid as ever, as soon as he was left alone.

“We’ll be back from the hospital by 6ish and we’ll leave for Zayn’s at 6:30, there’s left over Nandos in the fridge and if anything happens my office number is on a green sticky note on the fridge. Alright? Dear God look at the time, Niall come on time to go!”

“Bup I wappen winish my wowo wops!” Niall protested with a mouth full of food, before he was quite literally dragged out of the apartment and the door was locked behind him.

Silence.

Okay. I can do this. It’s just 6 hours. No big deal.

Louis padded into the living room and settled into the couch.

No big deal.

-

2 hours.

Louis had barely 2 hours of peace, before the nightmares began.

It had started off small.

Flickering lights, the temperature dropping.

Then it became more obvious.

The TV switched off and wouldn’t turn back on. Footsteps pounded down the stairs and through the hallways, but there was no one else in the house. Children began to laugh which eventually turned into screams that eventually turned into an inferno of pained screeches that rang on and on until it was all Louis could do to curl into a ball and put his hands over his ears.

His entire body was rigid, but his mind was screaming at him, desperately begging him to stand up and get help, to get out of there.

But Louis just sat, as he always did, and watched.

She appeared at about the 5 hour mark. 

The screams had only intensified over the past few hours but stopped abruptly when she appeared.

‘She’ was a figure. A horribly predictable figure, standing at the end of the hall, not moving. She was straight out of a horror movie. Long brown hair obscured her face from view and she was dressed in only a long white night gown, her long sleeves covering her arms. Only her hands and feet were in view, both of which were coloured a sickly pale purple, with veins the colour of molten lava spidering around them. Her nails were like talons, greyish with what looked like was flecks of blood.

She stood at the end of the hall, unmoving.

This should’ve been the last straw. He should’ve ran, he should’ve called someone, he shouldn’t have just sat there staring as he did. It was borderline insane, yet Louis couldn’t get rid of the thought that this was all in his head, and if he went screaming to a neighbour, they would see nothing but some lunatic who needed a mental asylum.

And he really didn’t want that.

So he repeated the mantra “Its not real, it’s not real, it’s not real,” over and over in his head until the words swam before his eyes and lost all meaning.

At 6 o’clock precisely Liam’s massive and unnecessary grandfather clock began to chime and the sound rang rampant throughout the silent hallways.

It was as if she had been waiting. Waiting for darkness to fall, waiting for a sound, any sound to trigger her.

So it was unsurprising in the least, when her head snapped up and her eyes focused on Louis.

He had seconds, barely seconds to analyse her face before she was running towards him.

Her eyes, as yellow as Satan’s himself, locked on Louis and she cleared the small length of the hallway in seconds.

Her face would have been beautiful. Sharp cheekbones, perfect nose, almond eyes, thick lips. But that was where the beauty stopped. Her face was full of ugly scars, some faded and pink, others fresh and shockingly red, oozing crimson blood. Her mouth was another horror all in itself. Her teeth were black and sharp like the talons that adorned her hands and feet. Her lips though perfect in shape, were covered in blood which dripped down her white dress and onto the floor.

Maybe it was her scarred face, maybe it was the surreality of the of the situation, maybe it was the fact that the creature in front of him began to look as real as it had ever looked, that made Louis finally snap.

He snapped.

And he screamed.

And screamed and screamed and screamed.

The creature didn’t falter. It was seconds from reaching him, her long talons outstretched, her vicious scarred face, that would surely haunt his already vivid nightmares, set in a snarl.

So it was almost cliched when the door to the apartment mercifully swung open just in time, followed by a frantic Niall and Liam, and the creature vanished.

But Louis didn’t stop screaming.

-


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i lied i couldnt be bothered waiting till tomorrow so heres another chapter, also any of the information about the satanic cults thats said in this chapter is either made up by me or i found through my research but if ur real pationate about it and u think what i've said is wrong then im really sorry please dont quote me :))

Their lateness could be blamed solely on 3 things.

1\. Liam took about 40 minutes to get ready, changed his outfit 3 times and would not stop muttering about pretty boys and pastel colours. Given the current situation, his dedication was mildly alarming.

2\. Dear old Niall had fancied himself to a midnight snack the night before, which had eventually led to a midnight feast on week old Indian curry he had found at the back of the fridge which had then led to him sitting on the toilet for an hour, screaming profanities in irish.

3\. And Louis? Well Louis hadn’t stopped screaming.

Their tardiness should’ve have insulted Zayn at least a bit, since they were over an hour and a half late.

But as the boys dragged an incoherent Louis into Zayn’s apartment, he only had one question on his lips.

“Why is he screaming.”

Zayn sat perched on the edge of a sofa that looked a little too luxurious given his current financial situation.

In fact, the whole apartment looked way out of Zayn’s price range, done up all fancy like a proper bachelor pad with flatscreen TV’s and pool table.

“Make him stop, he’s hurting my ears”

“We’ve tried everything he won’t respond at all,” Niall replied sinking into the couch.

Zayn’s expression turned amused.

“Everything?”

He took a tentative step towards Louis and without warning, punched him square in the jaw, knocking him unconscious immediately.

The room lapsed into an awkward silence.

“Um” Liam started “Given his current medical condition, I don’t think that was the best idea.”

Zayn cracked his knuckles.

“Yeah well it made me feel better,”

The had room lapsed into yet another awkward silence, until Niall’s stomach made a loud animal like noise. 

“Um, I don’t suppose you have any food?”.

-

Louis awoke an hour later to find that he was lying on a couch in an unfamiliar place. To his left was an identical couch, which held Liam, Niall and Zayn, all holding Xbox controllers. The small coffee table in front of them was littered with pizza boxes and on the flatscreen was a game of Fifa.

He smiled fondly and tried to sit up.

Zayn was the first one to notice him.

“If you start screaming again I will not hesitate to kill you this time,”

Liam let out a gasp.

Louis grinned and put his hands up in defeat.

“What time is it?” He croaked.

Zayn got up to turn the TV off.

“About 9:30, you mind telling us what the hell happened back there?” Niall asked squatting down next to him.

The rest of the boys sat down, making a circle and Louis felt oddly protected.

So he told them what happened. The only reaction was made when Louis mentioned Liam’s grandfather clock chiming.

Liam shared a look with Niall.

“Louis, that thing hasn’t worked in years, are you sure that’s what you heard?”

He thought back to the ringing it made and the reaction it had on the creature and shuddered.

“Positive” He whispered.

Niall let out a whistle and patted Louis awkwardly on the back.

“That’s the last time we’re leaving you alone then eh Louis?”

Louis shrugged.

“I’m not a baby”

“You almost destroyed your vocal chords, again!” Liam spluttered

“I need help. Not a 24 hour bodyguard.”

“What if it happens again Louis? What then? What if it’s worse? What if you actually hurt yourself?”

“He has a point.” Niall added

Only Zayn remained silent, playing with some papers in his hand.

"So I'd just take care of it, you cant protect me forever,"

“ARE YOU SUICIDAL OR SOMETHING DO YOU WANT TO DIE? I WONT HAVE IT LOUIS! I WILL NOT LOSE ANOTHER PATIENT! I WILL NOT SIT BACK AND WATCH YOU DIE KNOWING THERES NOTHING I CAN DO. NOT AGAIN.” Liam roared leaping up.

Zayn looked up at him suddenly as if he was seeing him for the first time, and studied him.

Liam, feeling Zayn’s gaze on him, turned back into a spluttering mess.

“I’ve seen s-so much loss at the hospital I’m sorry Louis I-I shouldn’t take it out on you,” he whispered sinking back down and avoiding everyone’s gaze.

Louis didn’t reply. What could you say to that? What could you say to a man who sees death everyday? Any lie Louis could fabricate, Liam would surely see through.

“If you guys are done, I have some information that might help.”

3 pairs of eyes looked curiously towards Zayn.

“So I did some research on those symbols you said you’d seen marked on Seth and James. Turns out that most satanic cults have symbols. Your friends might have been abducted by a cult and used as human subjugates,”

“But then why come after me? That doesn’t explain the stuff I’m seeing, none of which should even exist!”

“Usually they’d have an abundance of subjugates to choose from, so there’s no point in going after you. But then I realised, why would they send subjugates to recruit more? It doesn’t make sense, even if they do most of the dirty work they aren’t exactly the smartest or the most trustworthy. So I looked into it some more and found out that sometimes they recruit their subjugates to join their cults. You see the cults are usually made of humans who can see things that most of us can’t. Mostly, all they do is attempt to summon “demons” and go around killing people for fun. But if they want to recruit a subjugate they have to give them a task. And I think the task was for Seth and James to hunt you down or something.”

“But why would they do that? I don’t understand they were never interested in all that crap, why would they want to join a cult?”

Zayn sighed.

“Oh Lou, don’t you see? They were possessed.” Liam supplied when everyone else went silent.

“Possessed by what? A demon? That doesn’t exist! None of this exists!”

“How do you explain all the crap you’ve been seeing then?” Zayn asked

Louis didn’t have an answer for that.

He let the silence drag on, before he finally asked,

“Does that mean I’m possessed too?”

Zayn sighed again.

“Christ man I don’t know! I don’t know if any of this shit is true this isn’t my area of expertise, I think we need to call in a demonologist.”

“A what?” Niall asked.

“Someone who studies demons stupid, except I don’t know how we’re supposed to find one and even if we do they’re even harder to get a hold of,”

“So what now?”

Zayn was saved from answering when the door to his apartment banged open.

A man clad in a leather jacket and gelled back hair, who looked like he’d walked straight out of the movie Grease, stepped into the room.

“Is this another orgy?”

Zayn sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that night. 

“Sadly not,” He replied.

Liam whimpered.

“Thank god, because last time I-”

“Last time was for your birthday!”

“I don’t care if it was for fucking Hanukah, do you know how hard those stains were to get out?”

Zayn grinned.

“Lads, meet my room mate Alex, Al these are my clients”

“Clients? Haven’t heard that one in a while. What are they paying you for, sex? Let me guess, that big guy over there is actually some sex crazed freak who has a massive daddy kink, ooh and the blonde one he-“

“Oh for Christs sake Alex, knock it off will you, don’t you have stuff to do?” Zayn groaned.

“Sure sure try get rid of me why don’t you, just know that I’m not gonna be the one helping you clean up the jizz stains after”

Zayn threw a pillow at him, but Alex easily evaded it and walked into the next room snorting.

Another silence followed and Liam, who had surprisingly kept quiet during that whole fiasco, burst into tears yet again.

-

“Wallahi, why does he always do that?” Zayn sighed.

Niall had taken Liam into the next room to calm him down, so it was just Louis and Zayn. Strangely, Louis felt a little unease. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Zayn, just something about him seemed… different.

“I think it’s because of you,” He replied

“Me? Do I scare him or something?”

Louis chewed on his lip.

“I guess you could say that.” He trailed off deep in thought. For some reason he kept trying to think back to his high school days, his mind as trying to tell him something but he couldn’t figure out what.

“… or it could be all this demon shit, what do you think? Louis? Hello? Earth to Louis?”

He snapped back to reality to hear the last part of Zayn’s sentence. Then it hit him.

“What are you thinking about?” Zayn asked, prodding his arm.

Louis sucked in a breath.

“I think I know where we can find our demonologist”.

-

Back in England, Louis and his mates hadn’t taken school too seriously. So after they graduated, with the scores they had gotten, Universities weren’t exactly leaping to offer them a variety of courses. Luckily, Louis’ uncle had been able to get him a scholarship here in the states.

The rest of his friends hadn’t been so lucky.

Most of them had gone into the most interesting course that Uni’s could offer them. And when it’s a tie against being a florist or a demonologist, most chose the latter.

The only problem was they were all back in England. All of them except one.

Ruby Jackson. An Australian exchange student who had conveniently helped Louis figure out his sexuality at a very eye opening Halloween party. It helped though that she’d figured out hers too. So with that awkward encounter behind them, they became friends. Until Ruby left suddenly, halfway through senior year, to go to New York and study.

They hadn’t spoken in years, but Louis remembered going to one of her university lectures when he first came here. No prizes for guessing what the lecture had been on.

But even as he picked up the phone and dialled her number, his stomach wouldn’t settle.

What if he found out something he didn’t want to?

Even so, he let out a sigh of relief when she picked up on the 3rd ring.

“Hello? Jen! Stop that I’m on the phone silly” She giggled.

‘Hey Ruby, It’s Louis.”

“Lou! Hey honey! Wow it’s been years, How are you?”

“Not too good. I need your help.”

“Jen stop! That tickles! Oh sorry Louis, my help? What do you need?”

He cleared his throat.

“It’s about your demonology lectures,"

Silence.

“Dear god Louis what have you gotten yourself into?”

-

Ruby had arranged to meet them at Zayn’s apartment the next morning. A little too early for Louis’ liking, but hey at least she agreed to help them.

“6am? What kind of fucking person wakes up at 6?” Zayn groaned.

“Actually,” Liam said hesitantly, he’d come back into the room as composed as he could be after Louis had ended the call. “At the hospital, sometimes we have shifts that start at 3am,”.

Zayn’s eyebrows shot up. It was the most off guard Louis had ever seen Zayn look, and he had to admit it was a nice change from the beautiful guarded mysterious man they usually saw.

“You’re a doctor?”

Liam lit up, but Niall looked at Zayn suspiciously. Strange.

“Yes!” He grinned, and it was the first time he had ever looked remotely confident around Zayn.

“Interesting,” Zayn drawled, scratching his stubble. The surprised expression had left his face as instantly as it had appeared.

“Uh anyway I’m tired, let’s get going guys,” Niall added yawning.

“Its late, you guys can bunk here for the night if you want,” Zayn offered.

Liam looked back at Niall and Louis, eyes questioning.

“We have a waterbed…” Zayn added smirking.

Niall leaped up.

“SOLD!”

-


End file.
